Archpriest Andrei Lorgus explains the mechanism of how people acquire the habit of judging others. As a psychologist, he traces the development of children comparing themselves with their classmates to their complete separation from people who were close to them. The Lord says: “Judge not, lest ye be judged!” We all remember very well, of […]

Our Lord said, “The eye is the lamp of the body,” teaching that if your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be filled with darkness. He further emphasized how great that darkness will be. The first thing to understand is […]

An excerpt: I first saw Archimandrite John (Krestiankin) in 1982 when I visited Pechory Monastery. At the time he did not make a great impression on me: the benevolent old man in rather good physical condition (he was already seventy-two years old) was always running here and there, a bit fussed, even . . . […]

By Rod Dreher That’s my son Lucas, 11, spending an hour in church this morning reading the Psalms aloud. As I’ve mentioned, the Orthodox tradition is to read the Psalms straight through in an all-night vigil starting with the first service of Holy Saturday (which takes place on Good Friday night), until the Paschal liturgy […]

Where and when does the miracle occur? The ceremony, which awes the souls of Christians, takes place in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. The Holy Fire is the most renowned miracle in the world of Eastern Orthodoxy. It has taken place at the same time, in the same manner, in the same place […]

Judith Alsop It was a beautiful Sunday morning in southern California, both inside and outside of St. Barnabas Christian Orthodox church. Sunday morning Divine Liturgy never fails to enrich my soul in some way, but, on this one particular Sunday, blessings flowed through several children in my line of sight, all the way through […]

“O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faintheartedness, lust of power and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother, for […]

THE TRIODION Great Lent is the 40-day season of spiritual preparation that comes before the most important Feast of the Christian year, Holy Pascha (which means “Passover” and is commonly called “Easter”,). It is the central part of a larger time of preparation called the Triodion season. The Triodion begins ten weeks before Easter and […]

Father Andrew Damick Around this time of year, many people start thinking about ways they can change for the better. While New Year’s resolutions are not particularly a feature of the Orthodox faith, change certainly is, and resolving to change based on times and seasons is certainly part of our liturgical tradition. So adapting the […]

Orthodox Teachings

By Father Stephen Freeman
Belief is a strange thing. It rests like an idea in our mind. We can examine it, walk around it, argue it, and change it or reject it. But as an idea, belief really isn’t … More...

Transfigurating Practices
Aristotle Papanikolaou, PhD
What happened on the day of our Lord's Transfiguration? On this day, Jesus took with him three disciples, Peter, John and James, three of the … More...

Father Stephen Freeman
For many, the idea that we are somehow responsible for the sins of others, or can repent on their behalf is counter-intuitive and deeply troubling. It is distinctly non … More...

On the Website

Freedom from anger is an insatiable appetite for dishonor, just as in the vainglorious there is no unbounded desire for praise. Freedom from anger is victory over nature and insensibility to insults, … More...